EXIT 8 begins with a subway corridor that seems too ordinary to notice, then turns that sameness into dread. A lost man, played by Kazunari Ninomiya, drifts through a loop of white walls, identical posters and a quiet set of rules that promise an exit only if he spots every anomaly and turns back at once. At first the situation is pure puzzle logic: memorize each detail, compare each passage, and survive the next return to Level 1. A call from his girlfriend breaks the dreamlike routine and gives the story a human stake, while the recurring walking man, played by Yamato Kochi, becomes a figure of uncanny menace and tragic repetition. What gives EXIT 8 its force is the way it uses that game structure to explore modern paralysis. The film treats commuting, scrolling and endless restart as forms of existential entrapment, then deepens the fear by introducing pathos, fatherhood anxiety and the pressure of making every choice count. The boy played by Naru Asanuma shifts the mood from abstract paranoia to something more intimate and vulnerable. Kawamura, adapting the premise of a Japanese game, also moves between first-person impressions and a more observed perspective to keep the viewer alert, as if watching and playing at once. The result is a modern horror story shaped by repetition, recognition and the struggle for an exit. EXIT 8 keeps its grip through the final loop and invites viewers to step into the maze.

Keywords

• Film Fest Gent
• Film Fest Gent !
• suspense

Actors

• Kazunari Ninomiya
• Yamato Kochi
• Naru Asanuma
• Kotone Hanase
• Hirota Otsuka

Director

• Genki Kawamura